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Mushroom paté isn’t any everyday thing. It can’t be. After all, mushrooms can be expensive. Think not? Well truffles are mushrooms aren’t they? So enough preaching already. Paté is typically a delicious combination of fat, meat, vegetables and seasoning that is cooked in a pot or a terrine. My mushroom paté is a little different… if you are a frequent reader of my blog, you might remember a post I did a few months ago about duxelles. The mushroom paté is similar to that but with distinct differences.

The key to good paté is fat and seasoning. My version is vegetarian so the fat I’m using is olive oil. I use a bright peppery olive oil from California. This is one of those recipes where the higher the quality of the ingredients, the better the paté will taste. If you prefer Italian olive oil use that just make sure it’s extra virgin olive oil.

In a hot pan add a tablespoon of the oil. Add in half the thyme, the garlic and onions. Let cook until translucent and add in the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes add in another tablespoon of oil and stir it in. Let the mushrooms cook for another 5 minutes and then add in the marsala. Let the marsala reduce and add the rest of the thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes and remove from the heat. Allow to cool to room temperature and add in the rest of the olive oil and truffle salt. Serve chilled on crostini.

I’m serving this at a wine tasting that I’m hosting this coming Friday. Mushrooms pair great with wine because they bring out the earthiness of reds and tone down the acidity of whites.